Chapter 16 - "Welcome to the No-Future!"
Welcome to the No-Future! ("Zetsubō ni yōkoso!", 絶望にようこそ！) or Welcome to Despair! depending on the translation source, is the sixteenth chapter of the Welcome to the N.H.K manga. Summary Misaki Nakahara tries to get Tatsuhiro Satou to leave his apartment, but it's in vain as he's entered his previous reclusive and anxious state. He springs to the realization that he is in no position to be acting like this, as he is deeply in debt to My Way. His father has found a job again, but Tatsuhiro still depends on him like a leech. He shuffles through his mail and panics. His payments to the government's pension insurance and his unpaid loan are past due, and Hitomi Kashiwa invited him to her wedding ceremony. From next door, he hears Kaoru Yamazaki shouting in protest to his parents' requests for him to return home. Yamazaki argues that he has worked like a dog to pay off his college tuition, and both his degree and hard work would be pointless should he return home to work on his family's farm. He storms into Tatsuhiro's room and destresses himself by playing video games with and venting his problems to Tatsuhiro. Tatsuhiro nags about his problems likewise, especially about his debt to My Way. They order pizza and beer, and let themselves get completely intoxicated. Misaki tries to visit Tatsuhiro's apartment, but he slams the door in her face. They laugh hysterically, and Yamazaki tries to one-up it by using his textbooks as kindling for a fire. Tatsuhiro tries to one-up that by calling Hitomi and asking her out on a date, despite the fact that she's engaged. She accepts his request, to his amazement. Yamazaki tries to one-up that by calling his school crush, Nanako Hidorikawa, into his "otaku sanctuary". She comes over and Tatsuhiro hides in the closet, spying on their conversation. Yamazaki expects her to find his perverted obsessions to hentai repulsive, but it turns out quite the opposite. She does find the concept grotesque, however she finds his zeal towards a passion of his "manly". Yamazaki destroys the moment by calling her inane and accuses her of being a closet hentai otaku who fantasizes about being raped. She punches him in the face, calls him a freak, and absconds. In Chapter 4, Nanako blatantly expressed to her friends that she had no romantic interest in Yamazaki, however, this is offset by this scene where she seems to be flirting with him. For this reason, Tatsuhiro refers to her as a tsundere. Yamazaki likely had a chance to hit it off with her here, however, it is assumed that since he was under the influence of alcohol, coupled with the fact that he knew he was moving back with his parents; he decided to cut all ties with her in a satirical manner. Tatsuhiro tries to cheer Yamazaki up by turning on the television. He sees a moe girl on the television screen who is suffering from Alzheimer's. He is reinvigorated with new found confidence, realizing that their eroge is all he has, and proposes that they start up with the game again, and donate their riches to her cause. Misaki contemplates Tatsuhiro's apathy towards her, and realizes that he's the type to fall for weak girls, and is intimidated by anyone stronger than himself. Footnotes Category:Chapters